Page 116 - A Little Bush Maid

glance at the children as they passed; none were eating, all were chewing
the cud in lazy contentment. They passed through a smaller paddock where

superb sheep dotted the grass--real aristocrats these, accustomed to be
handled and petted, and to live on the fat of the land--poor grass or rough

country food they had never known. Jim and Norah visited some special
favourites, and patted them. Harry and Wally admired at a distance.

"Those some of the sheep you saved from the fire?" queried Harry.

Norah flushed.

"Never did," she said shortly, and untruthfully. "Don’t know why you can’t

talk sense, Jim!"--at which that maligned youth laughed excessively, until
first the other boys, and then Norah, joined in, perforce.

After again climbing over the sheep-proof fence of the smaller paddock
they came out upon a wide plain, almost treeless, save for the timber along

the creek, where their cattle track still led them. Far as they could see no
fence broke the line of yellow grass. There were groups of cattle out on the

plain. These were store bullocks, Jim explained, a draft recently arrived
from Queensland, and hardly yet acclimatised.

"Tt takes a good while for them to settle down," Norah said, "and then lots
of ’em get sick--pleuro and things; and we inoculate them, and their tails

drop off, and sometimes the sick ones get bad-tempered, and it’s quite
exciting work mustering."

"Dangerous?" asked Wally.

"Not with a pony that knows things like Bobs," said Bobs’ mistress. "He
always keeps his weather eye open for danger."

"Not a bad thing, as you certainly don’t," laughed Jim.

"Well--do you?"